In the agricultural sector, it is necessary to dispose of livestock and poultry carcasses for various reasons. Livestock and poultry carcasses must be disposed of after the animal has been slaughtered. For both livestock and poultry, diseased or dead animals must also be disposed of properly. Because of various state and federal environmental regulations, livestock and poultry producers cannot simply bury or “throw away” the animal carcasses. Particularly for diseased animals, it is important that the carcasses be properly disposed of to prevent the spread of infectious diseases to both humans and animals.
One traditional method for disposing animal carcasses is cremating the remains in an industrial incinerator or cremator. For many smaller livestock and poultry producers, animal carcasses must be transported to the location of the incinerator because the producer does not have an incinerator. Transport of animal carcasses is also a regulated activity such that a producer cannot simply load the carcasses onto an open trailer and then transport them to the incinerator location. In many states, the transporting vehicle must be licensed to handle the regulated load. In the event an animal carcass load accidentally contacts the ground during transportation, such as in a traffic accident, the carcasses are treated as a biohazard, and extreme measures are taken to clean the biohazard “spill”.
Because of regulations concerning disposal of animal carcasses, and therefore the increased costs incurred in handling the carcasses, a number of smaller incinerators/cremators have been developed to accommodate the needs of those producers who must routinely destroy carcasses, but wish to avoid the additional effort and cost associated with disposing of the carcasses by transport to another location. These smaller, more portable incinerators do not have the capacity to incinerate carcasses at the same rate of the larger industrial incinerators; however, many producers have realized savings in the ability to locally incinerate the carcasses thereby eliminating the need to temporarily store and transport the carcasses.
Some examples of carcass incinerators include the ones disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,339,752; 5,699,745; 5,926,933; and 6,397,764.
While each of these incinerators may be adequate for their intended purpose, there is a need to provide some lift capability for lifting the animal carcasses into the incinerator, but minimizing human contact with the carcasses. Accordingly, there is a need to provide a lift device that can efficiently and accurately lift and place the carcasses directly into the incinerator.
In accordance with the present invention, it is therefore one object of the invention to provide a lift device that is integrated with a carcass incinerator/cremator.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a cost effective, yet simple to use and efficient life device that may be directly attached to the incinerator, thereby minimizing cost and complexity associated with the lift device.
It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a lift device that is easily adaptable to raise, hold, and otherwise manipulate various sized animal carcasses so that the lift device may be used universally with any type of carcass that may be of a size that can be incinerated in the designated incinerator/cremator.